Govt to offer Tk 1 million loan for students studying abroad: Nur

State Minister for Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Nurul Haque Nur today said the government will provide loans up to Tk 1 million to students seeking higher education abroad to help them meet bank solvency requirements.

He said the directive was given by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to facilitate students intending to go to countries like South Korea, Japan, China and Germany.

“The loan facility will be provided through the ministry’s specialised Probashi Kallyan Bank,” he told reporters after a meeting with the prime minister at the Secretariat this afternoon.

The state minister said the prime minister had earlier given specific plans to boost manpower export and implement election manifesto commitments, and today’s discussion was part of its follow-up.

“Particularly, students going abroad for higher studies often face complications regarding bank guarantees or solvency requirements. To ease this, the prime minister has instructed to introduce this loan facility,” he said.

However, he clarified that the loan would not be handed over in cash; instead, it would be used directly to support tuition fees or other necessary payments.

Replying to a question about the ongoing war situation in the Middle East, Nur said there would be no long-term negative impact on Bangladesh’s labour market or remittance inflow.

“Although there may be temporary challenges, post-war reconstruction will create a huge demand for Bangladeshi workforce, opening up new employment opportunities,” he added.

Regarding syndicates in the labour market and high migration costs, the state minister said the government is working to fix migration costs as part of a 180-day action plan. Once finalised, it would prevent overcharging.

He also said discussions are underway at the government level to reopen labour markets in Malaysia and Vietnam soon, expressing hope for positive outcomes.

On Japan and European labour markets, Nur said a “Japan Cell” has been formed to expedite implementation of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on sending one lakh workers to Japan.

He added that the prime minister has instructed the foreign ministry to ensure consular services in Dhaka for European countries that currently require visa processing through India. Several countries have already started providing such services in Bangladesh.

Referring to issues faced by Bangladeshi expatriates in South Korea, he said recent flight disruptions due to technical reasons have been brought to the attention of the prime minister and the aviation minister, and immediate steps have been taken to ensure smooth travel.

The state minister also stressed increasing the presence of ministries in mainstream and social media to better communicate government development activities to the public.